


Varian: Day One

by TraumaTwin



Category: Rapunzel's Tangled Adventure (Cartoon)
Genre: Developing Friendships, Episode: s02e16 Rapunzel: Day One, Gen, I Wrote This Instead of Sleeping, Memory Loss, No beta we die like my mental stability, Piranhas, Rapunzel and Varian are Siblings (Disney), Rewrite
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-30
Updated: 2020-12-30
Packaged: 2021-03-11 01:15:49
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 9,174
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28416726
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TraumaTwin/pseuds/TraumaTwin
Summary: Rapunzel ran into the clearing, eyes panicked. “No time to explain! We have to find Varian, he’s lost his memory to back before he ever met us!”Cassandra straightened, a myriad of emotions crossing her face before settling on determination. “We’ll cover more ground if we split up.”The rest of the group nodded. Lance shook his head in disbelief. “Geez, that’s a lot to process. I need a minute.” He paused. “Never mind, that minute is not helping. Pre-blizzard Varian?” He sighed. “Well, he’s inexperienced. We’ve got the upper hand!”Eugene coughed awkwardly. “Uh, Lance, I don’t think you understand… this is the same kid who almost blew up his village the day we met. And that? That was an accident.”Lance gulped. “Oh. We’d… better hurry.”That one S2E16 rewrite absolutely none of you asked for but got anyway!
Relationships: Rapunzel & Varian (Disney)
Comments: 7
Kudos: 61





	1. Broken Promise, Broken Friendship

**Author's Note:**

> Guys, I LITERALLY bruised my pinky finger pressing the backspace key in this story. I’m not kidding, it happened. Interpret that how you will.  
> This is an AU where Rapunzel took Varian along on her black rock journey. Everything that happened in Season One still happened, so their relationship is definitely strained at the moment, and this story centers on that mainly. Yes, the events at the Great Tree still occurred, so we’re going to assume Cassandra and Rapunzel talked it all out instead of having the whole memory wand thing happen…  
> In other words, chaotic Varian/Rapunzel sibling energy time!!

_“Look… I know how much it hurts to have someone you trust let you down. I mean, after you go through something like that, how can you ever trust anyone again?”_

_“I don’t know. That- that’s why I thought maybe if I can make you forget everything that happened, you know, we could be friends again. Learn to trust again. But I guess life doesn’t really work that way.”_

_-Rapunzel’s Return_

Lance eyed Cassandra warily as she decimated yet another shrub practicing with her sword.

“You wanna give it a break? That poor shrub can only take so much.”

Varian, sitting back-to-back with the tall man while reading his book, snorted as Cassandra only slashed at the bush harder. Ruddiger sat contentedly on his lap, purring.

“I have to relearn everything using this hand after the other one got burned,” Here she shot an apologetic glance at Rapunzel, who winced, “So breaks aren’t really an option. Plus, we all need to be on our A-game. This is Westrabbit Woods. There are wild boars.”

Lance shrugged, dismissive. “Heh.”

“Slayer wolves.” Varian added helpfully, turning a page.

Another shrug. “Double heh.”

Cassandra turned to him and smirked. “And… jumping spiders.”

Lance gave a shriek, launching himself off the rock and whipping his head around frantically at the surroundings in fear of seeing his worst nightmare. “Wha?! Spiders?!”

Varian, having abruptly lost his backrest, toppled backward with a yelp, smacking his head against the rock. His book and Ruddiger went flying, both just barely caught by Cassandra.

“Ow!” He groaned, rubbing the back of his head with one gloved hand.

Rapunzel leapt out of her perch in the trees, landing near them worriedly. “Careful, Lance! Varian, are you okay?” She reached out to him as he gingerly stood up, shooting a glare at the still-panicking ex-thief.

Varian stiffened and drew away from Rapunzel’s worried hand, face growing cold. Rapunzel retracted her hand, startled and hurt at his chilly demeanor.

“I’m fine, Princess.” He turned away from her towards Cassandra. “Thanks for catching my book and Ruddiger.” Ruddiger clambered out of Cassandra’s arms towards Varian, cuddling close to the young alchemist.

Cassandra examined the cover of the book with a skeptical brow. “ _Unusual Star Patterns and Constellations in the Northern Hemisphere._ Sounds… exciting.” She said unenthusiastically.

“Well, the amount of light pollution should be low in this area, and the cloud cover is supposed to be minimal, making the stars super easy to see, not like when I was in Old Corona.” Varian answered defensively. “I have more interests than just alchemy!”

“I know _that-_ ”

Rapunzel turned away from the conversation, still stinging from Varian’s rejection. As she wandered towards the trees she had been nestled in, Pascal noticed her down mood and croaked curiously at her.

She smiled sadly at him. “I get why Varian is still mad at me… with everything that happened between us- I broke my promise, and forgot about him, and we had a really bad fight. But if he hadn’t stolen the flower, or kidnapped my _mom_ -” She huffed, finally reaching the trees and slinging herself up once again. “If he’d even just _waited_ , instead of just… blowing up, this all could have been avoided! And I feel like we could work things out, but he _refuses_ to even talk about it!” She paused, taking a deep breath. Pascal stared at her worriedly and croaked again, cocking his head at looking at his closest friend.

“You’re right. I gotta find a way to get him to talk to me.” Rapunzel’s face hardened in determination.

“Rapunzel! They’re back.” Cassandra called, and Rapunzel slung herself down once again to meet the return of Maximus and Eugene.

“You’ll never guess what yours truly spotted with his gorgeous, brown eyes!” Eugene called down smugly.

“Ooh, what?” Rapunzel replied, regaining her usual bounce.

“Come on!” Maximus turned around, leading the group to a stream. Across the stream, in two pieces, lay…

“The caravan!” Rapunzel squealed.

“Yep, found it myself. Well, Max helped.” Max snorted in disbelief, and Cassandra chuckled. “Max found it.” Eugene finally admitted. “But I was instrumental in that I did not get in the way!”

“And we thank you for that.” Cassandra responded sarcastically as she hopped the creek to help Lance and Shorty begin to push the caravan towards them.

Varian laughed and followed her eagerly, book still in hand.

“You guys, this is amazing!” Rapunzel cheered as they began to push both halves of the caravan together once again. Finally, they could begin their journey following the black rocks in earnest once again!

…If they could get the caravan fixed. One half fell over as soon as they wheeled them across the stream, and Rapunzel deflated.

Shorty walked up to the still-standing half of the caravan grandly. “Uh, allow me.” He adjusted the lantern hanging on the end, causing it to fall as well.

Eugene facepalmed.

“I believe my work here is done.” Shorty concluded.

Cassandra pinched the bridge of her nose, sighing. “Remind me why we brought him?”

“We didn’t.” Varian called as he searched through the now broken ruins of the caravan, Ruddiger around his shoulders.

“How are we gonna get these two back together without Hook Foot?” Lance fretted, searching through the pieces desperately.

Eugene comforted him with a strained smile. “Don’t worry, buddy. We’ll figure something out. It’s just gonna take a little TLC and a lot of glue.”

Lance picked up two boards in despair. “And a whole lot of parts.”

Rapunzel perked up. This was her chance! “Don’t worry about that! Varian and I can take care of that, no problem! We’ll go get supplies.”

Varian, who was carefully sifting through some of his things among the wreckage, deflated, frowning. “Fine. I guess.” He sighed and turned. “Hey, Eugene! Look what I found!” He held up a sheaf of papers to the man.

Eugene took them, laughing as he read the writing on them. “Hey, I remember these!” Rapunzel looked over his shoulder.

“What are-”

“Escape plans.” Eugene explained.

“Escape plans? For what?” Lance asked.

Varian grinned, cheeks slightly red. “Back before I decided to stay with you guys, I made these super elaborate ideas on how to get away and strike out on my own to save my da-” He cut himself off, biting his lip and looking away. “A-anyway, Eugene caught me one day, but instead of getting mad like I thought he would, he just says, ‘Better add an extra soup ladle to that one, or it’ll never work.’”

“I stand by that decision.” Eugene called over Lance and Rapunzel’s surprised snickers.

“What kind of plan requires two soup ladles?” Rapunzel asked, still laughing.

Varian opened his mouth, smiling, before he realized who he was talking to. He coughed awkwardly and grabbed the papers out of Eugene’s hand, hastily stuffing them into his book and ignoring Eugene’s indignant “Hey!”.

“Ah, we should head out soon, if we want to find supplies before nightfall.” He finally said, walking briskly towards the trail leading away. “Ruddiger, you’re in charge of these knuckleheads and Cassandra.”

His loyal raccoon chirruped happily amid the offended cries of Lance and Eugene.

Rapunzel sighed, shoulders slumping. Pascal gave her an encouraging chirp, and she smiled weakly at him. “Let’s do this.”

“So!” She called, running up to Varian, who was still steadfastly ignoring her. “Lately, I just can’t seem to stop thinking about Attila’s cupcakes. It’s like when you have a song stuck in your head, but it’s a taste that’s tuck in my head, isn’t that funny?” Varian made no response, studying the terrain in front of them intently. “What about you, Varian? Anything on your mind?”

“Piranhas.”

Rapunzel grimaced. “Piranhas? Oof, really? That’s upsetting… maybe we should _talk_ about that?”

“No.” Varian sighed, holding out a hand to stop Rapunzel at the small river they had arrived in front of. He took out one of the apples he normally saved for Ruddiger and threw it out over the water. Fast as lightning, the man-eating fish flew out of the water and devoured the fruit, not even leaving the core behind. Varian squatted close to the water. “Big piranhas. I’d say they almost eat faster than Ruddiger.” He walked over to a section of the river where trees crisscrossed both banks of the water.

“I thought this place was called Westrabbit Woods. That’s kind of misleading, don’t you think?”

Varian shot her a look. “Yeah. You can use these trees to get across.” He gestured towards the tree line.

“Sounds great!” Rapunzel chirped, making sure to keep Pascal safely perched on her shoulder as she used her hair to slingshot herself across the stream without trouble. She landed with a soft thump and turned to Varian with a furrowed brow. “But what about you?”

“I got this.” Varian smiled cockily and threw a blue glass sphere at the river. It shattered and spread a thin sheet of ice across part of the river, creating a simple walkway.

Carefully he began moving across the bridge. As he crossed, a piranha leaped on top of the ice, cracking a neat hole in the center of the fragile walkway. Water gushed over the center, and more piranhas took their cue from the first and started jumping at the bridge.

“Ah!” Varian cried, teetering and trying to find a safe way to cross quickly.

“Varian! Let me help you!” Rapunzel called, readying her hair.

“No!” Varian shouted. “I’ve got this, Princess. Really!” He leapt across the cracking ice, barely making it to the other side without incident. He stumbled, and Rapunzel offered a steadying hand.

Varian ignored it, dusting himself off. “See?” He gave her a half-hearted smile.

“Yeah. I guess you did have it.” Rapunzel smiled back, trying hard to cover her frustration. She turned away to study the map she’d brought with them. “Looks like there’s a town just over this hill.”

“Alright then. Let’s check it out.”

By the time they reached the village, the sun was setting, casting orange streaks across the sky from the west. Black rocks stabbed through the abandoned buildings, rubble piled in the streets.

“Oh wow. Looks like the black rocks forced everyone out of this village.” Rapunzel whispered, eyes wide.

Varian rubbed the back of his neck. “I don’t think there’s anything we can do now. Come on, we’ve got to look for supplies to help the caravan.” He walked over to a pile of worn planks, digging through them warily.

Rapunzel picked through the crumbled buildings carefully, stopping when she came to a mostly preserved cart with a faintly familiar symbol emblazoned across it. She couldn’t place it, but she had a feeling she’d seen it before. “Hey, Varian! Come check this out! It’s an apothecary cart!” She studied it, walking closer and digging through the drawers. “It’s got all sorts of powders and tonics- kind of like your alchemy! Ooh, look, a snow potion!”

Pascal croaked approvingly and moved to sort through some of the drawers himself. Varian drew closer with a raised eyebrow.

“Princess, potions and those sorts of things are magic, and I-”

“-Don’t work with magic, I know.” Rapunzel finished, grinning sheepishly. “But look!” She dumped the potion on Pascal, laughing when the disgruntled chameleon became covered in white fluffy flakes. He shook the snow off and crawled up to Rapunzel’s shoulder once again.

Varian took the potion from her, eyeing it with excitement and suspicion. “Although… this does look an awful lot like my ice bomb. Maybe if I converted the freezing temperatures the chemicals induce to a lower degree-”

Rapunzel smiled cluelessly as the alchemist rambled on, not understanding a word. Tentatively she started looking through the other drawers, pausing when she found a blue book with the same strange symbol from the cart on it.

“‘Wand of Oblivium’. Hmm. ‘Erases what you wish to forget’.” Rapunzel read aloud softly with narrowed eyes. She turned her attention to the object next to it, a carefully carved wand with an exquisite pink jewel in its center. She grinned as an idea came to her.

“Varian!” She called to get the teenager’s attention. “Look! A memory wand! I wonder if it works!” She waved the wand in the air aimlessly before carefully putting it back.

Varian opened his mouth to speak, but Rapunzel interrupted him by looking towards the wand with feigned surprise.

“Varian!” She picked up the wand and held it up towards the now perplexed Varian. “Look! A memory wand! I wonder if it works!” She once again waved the wand precisely the way she had before, then placing it back down a second time. Varian’s confused expression turned to alarm.

“Varian!” She grabbed the wand a final time before pausing and smiling slyly, nudging the alchemist gently. “Did I get you?”

Varian, clueing in on the prank, smiled in grudging amusement. “Very funny.” He pulled both the wand and the book out of Rapunzel’s hands, searching for a safe place to put them.

Rapunzel wandered away slowly, not daring to glance back at the boy. “Too bad there’s not an ‘open-up-to-the-person-you’ve-been-traveling-with-for-a-year-and-yet-still-aren’t-friends-with-because-you-had-a-fight-and-won’t-talk-about-it” wand, right?” Her words drifted off into a mumble, more directed at Pascal than anyone else by the end.

“What was that?” Varian called sharply.

Rapunzel turned, tired of avoiding the clear rift between them. “This… thing between us, Varian. It’s just… it’s been so long, and I feel like if we just _talked_ about it…”

Varian hands tightened around his book and he pulled it to his chest, almost protectively. “I really don’t think there’s anything to talk about. We both made our decisions, and we both faced the consequences. And that’s fine. We’re good.” He swiveled on his heel before Rapunzel could open her mouth and say _no, we’re not “good”!_ “We should probably set up camp for the night.”

Rapunzel refused to give up that easily, however. “If we keep on avoiding this, it will only make things harder!” She took a deep breath. “Look, I know I broke my promise to you-” She noticed Varian’s shoulders stiffening but continued doggedly on. “And with everything that happened, that ruined what we could’ve had.”

“Princess-”

“But I know there’s still hope for us! You agreed to coming with us on this trip, so I know you think that too, deep down!”

“I only agreed to any of this because the alternative was prison!” Varian exploded, spinning around to face her, blue eyes flashing. “It wasn’t because of any illusions I had about _friendship_!”

“Why did you even try to trust us to help you again, then? When you couldn’t depend on our promises, how did you believe that we were telling the truth, that we wouldn’t just leave you again?” Rapunzel demanded.

Varian sighed, running a weary hand through his hair. “Promises can be broken, Princess. Trust can be broken. And sometimes the only thing you have left to do… is to take a chance.”

“So-”

“I’m done talking about this.” Varian muttered, turning away.

Rapunzel reached out a hand to him, desperate to hold onto the connection they’d had, if only briefly. _Wait!_

But it was too late. Pascal patted her cheek comfortingly as she frowned.

As night fell, they searched the village for a good spot to sleep, finally ending up next to the apothecary cart once again. “Well, good night.” Varian said, using his constellation book as a pillow. Rapunzel piled her voluminous hair around her.

After a moment of tossing and turning, she flipped towards Varian, curled up with his raven hair strewn across the ground. The blue streak showed up prominently in the moonlight shining down on the clearing.

“I can’t sleep.” She settled on saying.

Varian chuckled faintly. “It hasn’t even been two minutes yet, Princess. You’ve got to at least try closing your eyes before you say that.”

Rapunzel propped herself up on an elbow. “I can’t do that until you stop cutting off this conversation with me.”

Varian groaned and clapped his hands over his ears, like he was trying to block out Rapunzel’s attempts at talking. “Didn’t we _just have_ this conversation?”

“No, because you cut it off before we could finish. We still need to talk about this thing between us.”

“What is with your obsession to talk about things? There is nothing going on between us.” Varian said slowly.

“And that’s the problem! We were such good friends before, and then-”

Varian curled up tighter around his book headrest, interrupting with a harsh, “If that was your idea of being friends, Princess, then maybe I don’t _want_ to be friends with you.”

Rapunzel flinched back as though he had slapped her, hitting against the apothecary cart. The jeweled wand and book fell out of the drawer at her movement. She moved forward, quickly catching the wand to keep it from hitting the hard ground. She studied it to avoid looking at Varian. “I know you don’t mean that.”

“But I do, Princess.”

Rapunzel huffed, green eyes flashing. “I made a mistake- we _both_ made mistakes. You can’t just throw any chance at having friendship away because of that!” She softened. “We- we have so much in common, Varian. If we just moved on, gave this a chance-”

Varian finally turned to her, glaring. “No!” He shouted. “How can I forget what you did- heck, how can I forget what _I_ did?! It could never work out, Rapunzel! We can’t just forget this ever happened!”

“Sometimes I wish you would forget so you would give this a chance!” Rapunzel snapped. As if in answer, the wand in her hands started to glow a dull pink. “What…?” She brought the wand closer. “Um…” It only glowed brighter, its dullness turning brighter and brighter until it encompassed everything.

In a flash of pink, Rapunzel lost consciousness.


	2. Who Are You Again?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It is my personal opinion that Rapunzel thinks in mainly exclamation points.

Rapunzel awoke slowly, blinking remaining rose-colored spots out of her vision. She tried to lift her hands to rub at her eyes, only to find she was restrained from doing so.

“What?” A magenta goo encased her arms and legs, trapping them to the ground. She frantically sought Pascal, to find he was stuck as well from his perch on her shoulder. At least he was safe. Rapunzel took a deep breath. Only one person had the materials for this particular trap. “Varian?” She couldn’t see him anywhere.

A figure suddenly darted out in front of her and Rapunzel yelped, trying to scramble backwards and forgetting she couldn’t move.

“Who are you?” Varian hissed, holding a goo ball before him threateningly, despite his shaking grip on the impromptu weapon. “And how did I get here?”

“Wha-” Rapunzel cut herself off, eyes wide with confusion. Then she remembered. _The Wand of Oblivium._ “Do-do you really not remember?”

“I remember I’m _supposed_ to be at home. With my Dad. And that’s where I was, two seconds ago!” Varian’s eyes widened in panic, and his grip on the goo ball relaxed slightly. “But- then how am I here?” He pushed an anxious hand through his hair, touching his goggles as though he were looking for reassurance that they were still on top of his head. “What sort of phenomenon could possibly explain spontaneous teleportation and memory loss?” He asked breathlessly. “Oh, Dad is going to be so _worried_!”

Rapunzel gulped and turned to look at Pascal, who stared back accusingly. “I didn’t mean to actually erase his memories to before he met us!”

Varian’s gaze snapped to Rapunzel and his eyes narrowed dangerously. “What did you do to me?” He growled.

Rapunzel glanced towards the gleaming Wand of Oblivium, left on the dusty ground of the abandoned village. She should probably tell him the truth… would he even believe her? And was she really going to tell Varian his dad was most likely… dead? That they were fighting, that she had _abandoned_ him in his time of need? That the only reason he was with her now was because he hadn’t wanted the alternative?

“Uh… nothing! Nothing at all, I promise!” Rapunzel winced at her wording, before remembering… Varian didn’t know the significance of that phrase yet. She brightened slightly. “I-In fact, I was _helping_ you! The reason you don’t remember leaving Old Corona is because… um… ruffians! Ruffians used magic on you.” Ruffians were a good excuse, right? She would’ve believed that. Beside her, Pascal chirped angrily, but Rapunzel ignored it. Yes, lying was bad, but this was for a good cause. Besides… what harm could hanging out with the old Varian be? This way, maybe they could become friends again, without the past getting in the way!

“Ruffians? Magic?” Varian glared at her. “Magic isn’t real!”

“It is! I swear! I’ve seen it with my own eyes.” Rapunzel blurted.

“You. Have seen magic.” Varian said flatly, looking at her disbelievingly. “Do you have any proof?”

“Uh….” Rapunzel trailed off, looking to the side. Her hair didn’t react to the rocks anymore, so she couldn’t use that… Wait. “The rocks!”

“Rocks.”

“The black rocks!” Rapunzel persisted, jerking her head towards the menacing figures the obsidian-colored stones made as they peeked through ruined rooftops.

“The black ro- wow.” Varian breathed, dropping his goo ball back in his pocket as he dashed over to the rocks. “What are these?” He exclaimed.

“The black rocks.” Rapunzel answered with authority. “They’re _magic._ They’ve been growing everywhere lately.” She tried to shrug, but the move was once again prevented by Varian’s goo.

“They don’t look like any stone or mineral I’ve ever seen!” Varian marveled. “Oh, I’ve _got_ to do tests on these!”

Rapunzel looked to Pascal with a wry expression. The scene Varian made was strangely similar to the first time he had examined her hair. Pascal gave her an unimpressed look, and with a flush she remembered the lies she was currently caught up in.

“No time for that!” She called desperately to the engrossed alchemist. “Now that I’ve saved you from the ruffians, I-I’ve got to… take you home! To your dad! In Old Corona, right?”

“O-oh. Yeah.” Varian sheepishly walked back over to her. “I guess, _maybe,_ those rocks could be considered…” He made a face, “Magic.”

Rapunzel smiled, but Varian held up a finger.

“However, until I can perform several proper tests, I can neither confirm nor deny your statement.” He cocked his head. “Ruffians? Really?”

“Yeah!” Rapunzel beamed. “They… uh, wanted… your water heaters! The ones underneath the tunnels!” _Please, please let him have started building those-_

“You _know_ about my water heaters? _Ruffians_ know about my water heaters?” Varian all but shrieked, blanching.

“Uh- yeah! You told me all about them!” Rapunzel smiled awkwardly at him.

“I- well, I suppose there’s no other _real_ way you could _possibly_ know about my water heaters- I’ve only just finished them, and no one knows yet-” Varian chuckled, rubbing the back of his head. “Yeah, my dad would kill me if he found out I’d been in the tunnels.”

“Great! So, if you could free me, we can get you… home!” Rapunzel begged.

Varian pulled out the neutralizing particle, fingering the bottle and eyeing her carefully. “How do I know I can trust you?”

Rapunzel swallowed. “I promise. And when I make a promise, I never break it. Ever.” _Liar._

Varian studied her a moment longer before breaking into a smile. “Okay... But if you give me any reason to believe you’re not telling the truth?” His smile dropped. “I will goo you again.”

“Great!” Rapunzel squeaked. Pascal protested beside her, but she ignored him.

Varian beamed at her, blue eyes shining with innocence. He uncorked the neutralizing particle and gently poured it over the goo.

Rapunzel sighed as it dissolved, stretching her freed limbs.

“I’m Varian!” He held out his hand for her to shake.

“I’m Rapunzel!” She replied, just as cheerfully, shoving the guilt she felt down.

“Huh, like the Lost Princess?” Varian asked her curiously.

“Yeah. Like the Lost Princess…” Rapunzel bit her lip.

Convincing Varian to sleep instead of examine the black rocks was a chore, but Rapunzel couldn’t help but feel fond as she watched the boy curl up on his book once again, snoring gently.

Pascal poked her with his tail, and she turned to him as he narrowed his big eyes at her, turning a dull red color.

“I know you’re mad, but lying to Varian was for the best!” She whispered desperately. “Can you imagine trying to tell him that his dad’s been encased in amber, so he committed treason and kidnapped my mom to force me to help him after I said no and forgot about him? And that for the past year, we haven’t even talked about it and are pretty much the furthest thing from friends?” Rapunzel frowned at her best friend. “Look, I _can’t_ tell him the truth.” She looked away. “And this might be my one chance to… you know… try to be friends with him! Even if it can’t last. Without all the things that happened in the way, I’m sure we would’ve been really close. I want to try.”

Pascal didn’t look happy about it, but he reluctantly nodded his head in agreement.

“Great.” Rapunzel turned to her surroundings. “Now, see if you can help me find that book that was with the wand. Maybe it can tell us how to reverse the effects and give him back his memory.” After a moment of shuffling through the various drawers of the apothecary cart and around it, she located the small blue book.

“Got it! Here. ‘The Wand of Oblivium can be reversed with a simple potion, as follows…’. This is great!” Rapunzel flipped through the pages, becoming steadily disheartened as more and more ingredients piled up. She sighed, discouraged. “I might’ve called it simple if it had 52 fewer ingredients… but, hey, to each his own! We can collect these while ‘taking Varian home’. He never has to know. This is perfect!” She smiled at Pascal. “We’ll start tomorrow, though, after a good night’s rest.”

She bundled her hair together, cradling the book close to her chest. “’Night, Pascal.” She yawned.

Rapunzel awoke the next morning to a rustling near her head. She launched herself to her feet, frying pan at the ready, only to be met with a surprised yelp.

“Varian… what are you doing?”

The boy was blushing furiously from where he had been knocked to the ground by Rapunzel’s sudden movements.

“I- well, I was just- it’s just-” He stammered. “Your hair?” He finally managed, voice squeaking at the end.

“My… hair? What about it?” Rapunzel said, slightly self-conscious.

“You can’t be older than twenty, but it’s so… _long._ That’s not… I was just trying to figure out how that could possibly-”

Rapunzel laughed. “Would you believe me if I told you that was magic too?”

Varian pouted. “Oh, come on! There’s got to be a reasonable-”

“It didn’t even reach my shoulders last year and became seventy feet long when I touched the black rocks in this explosion of light.” Rapunzel informed him cheerfully, miming the actions with her hands.

Varian blinked at her, mouth agape. “Yeah, no, I got nothing.”

Rapunzel bundled her hair back together with her beads, grinning. “Well, if that’s settled, let’s get going!”

“Right.” Varian dutifully followed her out of the ruins of the town, only pausing when they reached the line that separated the village from the forest.

“What is it?” Rapunzel asked, turning to look at him confusedly.

“It’s just…” Varian rubbed the back of his head sheepishly. “I’ve never left Old Corona without my dad before. I don’t really get out much at all. I guess it’s sinking in now, that I got kidnapped by… ruffians, and I’m not in my hometown, and my dad isn’t here.”

Rapunzel gave him a comforting smile. “Well, I’m here, so there’s nothing to worry about.”

“Right.” Varian took a deep breath and stepped over the boundary line. “We got this.”

“We got this.” Rapunzel echoed, taking his hand and tugging him into the trees. She suppressed a smile when Varian didn’t try to pull away or stiffen, only laughing and following her.

They wandered along the various trails through Westrabbit Woods, Rapunzel carefully collecting the ingredients when she spotted them, referencing the book for help. Varian chattered aimlessly beside her, fluttering from thought to thought as quickly as a hummingbird- and just as easily distracted.

As Rapunzel carefully collected a spiky green fern-like plant, she heard Varian’s distinct cry and instantly leapt to her feet, hair at the ready. She charged towards the sound, calling his name.

“What’s the matter?” She cried, only to find Varian desperately chasing… a bunny?

“It stole my goo ball!” He called angrily, running after the satisfied rabbit, with a pink orb clutched possessively in its mouth.

“Are you sure you can’t just… let the bunny have the ball?” Rapunzel asked cautiously, faltering when Varian turned and glared.

“No! That’s my last one! I’m not giving it to a _bunny_!”

Rapunzel couldn’t help the giggle that escaped her, and Varian offered pleading blue eyes. “Please? Help me?”

Rapunzel shook her head bemusedly. “Alright.” She shifted her grip on her hair to compensate for the smaller target.

It took ten minutes and some rather creative maneuvering, but eventually a considerably more rumpled Varian and Rapunzel had successfully captured the rabbit, Varian plucking his alchemy from its grasp.

“I’ll take that.” He told the bunny imperiously, before turning to Rapunzel with a wide, beaming grin. “Thanks for helping me out!”

Rapunzel offered a small smile back, feeling a faint pang of sadness. “No problem.”

Varian cocked his head at her, brow creasing for a moment before it smoothed out. “Hey Rapunzel, look!” He pointed behind her excitedly.

“It’s… a tree?” Rapunzel finally asked.

“No, look at the rock beside it! That’s no ordinary gravel!” Varian darted over to the pile eagerly, grabbing several gray pieces of the earth and bringing them close to his face with shining eyes. “Oh, yes! Man, I’ve always wanted this mineral…” He sighed dreamily, before frowning faintly. “But it can only be found in deep patches of forest, and dad says-” Varian sighed, shaking his head and refocusing. “That doesn’t matter, anyway. I’ve got it now!” He crowed, shoving it in his pocket with all his other alchemy balls and his book.

“Cool…” Rapunzel said cluelessly. “Um… I’m just gonna- you know-” She slipped back through the shrubbery to reach that plant she had abandoned in favor of going after Varian.

She had only just pocketed the plant when a voice from behind startled her.

“What’re you doing?”

“Gah!” Rapunzel jumped and fell back, Pascal and the book being dislodged and going flying.

“Whoops! Sorry!” Varian cried, quickly reaching down to pick up the book and dazed reptile. “Ooh, you have a chameleon! That’s so neat, I’ve never seen one before!” He stared at the blue book confusedly. “What’s this?”

Rapunzel’s eyes widened in alarm, and she lunged forward, snatching the book from Varian’s grasp. “Oh, nothing!” She yelped. “Just… uh, a cookbook! I’m trying to make… soup!” Pascal, from Varian’s grip, gave her an unimpressed look. She ignored him, offering Varian a strained smile. “A really super special soup.”

Varian cast her a skeptical look. “Soup. Okay, then.” He shrugged. “I’m allergic to hazelnuts, which sometimes makes it hard for people to make a soup I can eat.”

“Aw, that’s sad…” Rapunzel trailed off. “You know, if you ask nicely, I’ll bet Pascal will change colors for you!” She speedily changed the subject.

Varian grinned. “Really?” He turned his attention to the chameleon, who was currently giving Rapunzel a flat look. “Can you do camouflage?” When the reptile didn’t respond, he frowned. “Pretty please?” He begged.

With a sigh of acquiescence, Pascal blended in with Varian’s gloves, his brown eyes being the only thing that distinguished him from Varian’s hands. “Oh, wow. I’ve always wanted to see how chameleons change their pigmentation.” Varian breathed. “Can you do it again? How about blue?”

As the boy continued to request different colors, Rapunzel gently guided the duo forward to the next ingredient she needed.

A brightly colored, seedy flower, a bluebird’s egg, a pretty gray flower-

“Yellow! Like a sort of orange, neon yellow?” Varian’s voice echoed from behind her, and Rapunzel turned, smiling, until she saw the color Pascal had turned.

It was the exact shade of the amber that had encased Quirin. Rapunzel paled, and swallowed, turning away to collect the sap from the tree that matched the instructions in the book.

“H-hey! Varian?”

“What’s up, Rapunzel?” Varian answered cheerfully, holding his hand to his shoulder to let Pascal clamber on.

“I think I’ve got all the ingredients for the soup now, and the sunlight is practically gone. We should probably set up for the night.” Rapunzel gestured at the fading light in the west, with the darkness of the night already creeping in.

“Great!” Varian walked over to her, and Pascal climbed from his shoulder over to hers.

Rapunzel turned to walk away.

“Rapunzel?” Varian’s voice was softer now, and Rapunzel swiveled to face him.

“Yeah?”

“I- I just wanted to say thank you. For everything, you know? Saving me from the ruffians, and showing me… magic, and taking me home.” He smiled up at her. “I’m lucky to have someone like you I can trust. I don’t know what I’d do without you here.”

Rapunzel was glad the darkness concealed her expression now. “Uh. You’re welcome.” She squeaked. “Come on, I think there’s a spot we can go over there and make the soup. We’ll head north to Old Corona in the morning.”

“Okay!” Varian chirped, dutifully following the princess to the clearing she had seen earlier.

Rapunzel set up a pot and started a fire underneath it, gently adding the various ingredients to the potion.

“Smells good!” Varian announced, popping up next to her on a log she had dragged over to sit on.

“It has to simmer overnight.” Rapunzel quoted from the blue book. “We can taste it in the morning, before heading to Old Corona.”

“Sure! Great!” Varian’s voice held little enthusiasm, and Rapunzel turned to him in concern.

“What’s the matter?”

“Nothing!” Varian blurted, staring at his hands. After a beat of silence, he sighed. “It’s just… I don’t know, I kind of want to stay out here a little longer? This has been so fun, and I’ve never really been out of my town much. It’s exciting, being in a new place, even if it is a little scary. You know?” He glanced at Rapunzel with a shy smile.

“I- why are you telling me this?” Rapunzel asked with a furrowed brow. Varian, _willingly talking_ about his feelings- to _her_?

Varian furrowed his brow. “Because we’re friends, right? And friends tell each other what’s on their mind. I trust you with that.”

At Rapunzel’s silence, he gave her a wry smile. “Well, good night.”

Varian made to leave. Pascal poked Rapunzel from where he sat on her shoulder, giving her a meaningful look. _You still have time to tell the truth._

“Varian?” Rapunzel almost whispered, but the teenager heard and paused.

“Yeah?”

“…Good night.”

Varian shot her a smile from over his shoulder and found a spot a distance away to sleep.

Rapunzel turned her pensive gaze back to the potion, which was steadily turning a luminescent green color.


	3. Lost and Found

Varian settled on his back staring up at the stars. They were so _bright_ and beautiful. He recalled the book he had brought with him (although he didn’t remember packing it- the ruffians must’ve done that, he supposed) and eagerly yanked it out of his pocket. He’d bet there were all sorts of cool constellations he could find in there!

He opened it to a random page, looking eagerly at the sky. A particularly brilliant ball of light caught his attention from where it sat to the lower right of the moon. _The North Star,_ he identified easily. Then he frowned, a faint detail pricking at his mind.

“Didn’t Rapunzel say that we were heading north to Old Corona?” He said aloud, confused. “We’re going the wrong way!” He gasped. “I’ve got to tell her!”

He made to close his constellations book, only to see several sheets of paper fall out from it. He picked them up hastily, glancing at them. He hoped those weren’t pages of the book… wait.

He read the details listed _in his handwriting_ on the papers. They were… escape plans? Lots of them.

“All I have to do is distract Rapunzel long enough to-” He read one to the night air, stopping when his throat closed up. He swallowed.

_There were no ruffians… how could I have been so stupid? I must’ve been trying to escape from… Rapunzel._ Rapunzel, who had helped him retrieve his alchemy, who had let him play with her chameleon. Rapunzel, who _tricked_ him, led him the wrong way, _lied_ about what had happened to him.

Anger colored Varian’s cheeks, and he stormed back towards the long-haired girl in a fit of boldness.

“You’re not taking me home, are you?” He snapped when he reached her.

Rapunzel turned to him, surprise laced in her eyes, along with… guilt. _I knew it,_ Varian thought with equal parts anger and sadness.

“What are you talking about?” Rapunzel asked.

“You said we were heading north, but we’re not. I know how to find the North Star, even if I’m not an expert in astronomy.”

“Varian, please, I can explain.” Rapunzel said nervously.

“Can you explain why I don’t remember making _these_?” Varian brandished the pages he had found. “Plans to escape. Escape from _you._ There were never any ruffians, were there? It was just you _._ ”

“No, I promise, I didn’t-” Rapunzel protested, but Varian cut her off with a sad laugh.

“Why should I believe anything you say or promise, when I know you’ve already lied to me?”

Rapunzel made to get up and walk to towards him, but he scrambled in his pockets, pulling out the nearest alchemy ball he could find. Faintly he recognized its gloomy green color, and he held it out as a barrier between them.

“Please, Varian-”

“No!” Varian yelled. “I can’t believe this.” He growled. “I thought we were _friends_!” He shook his head. “I should’ve known better.” He threw the knockout bomb at Rapunzel before she could react properly, and she collapsed in a heap.

As she fell, the gravity of his current situation hit him. That would only last for a few minutes, and Rapunzel couldn’t be trusted. She was dangerous. He had to get away.

Varian scrambled backward, pushing desperately through the leaves of the bushes, ignoring the way they slapped at his face and hands. “Everything’s going to be just fine. I can get to Old Corona on my own. Everything’s fine!” He told himself desperately.

With a yelp, he barreled into a small group of people.

“Who-” He started breathlessly but was interrupted.

“Varian!” Called a man with brown hair.

“There you are!” Started a woman with short black hair. “Where’s Rapunzel?”

_Where’s Rapunzel?_

“Y-you guys are with _her!_ ” Varian’s voice trembled, and he backed up quickly. “I- don’t come any closer!” He threatened. The group only looked confused.

“Varian, what are you talking about? Of course we’re with Rapunzel!” The biggest man chuckled.

“Stay away from me!” He shouted, running back through the forest leaves.

“That was weird.”

Varian darted behind the tree, panting. He was getting tired too quickly… this was bad news. He probably couldn’t outrun them. He pushed an anxious hand through his hair. Well… if he couldn’t outrun them… there was only one other thing to do.

“Varian!”

“Kid, where are you?”

“Hairstripe?”

“Kid with goggles whose name I can’t recall at the moment!”

Rapunzel ran into the clearing, eyes panicked. “No time to explain. We have to find Varian, he’s lost his memory to back before he ever met us!”

The dark-haired woman straightened, a myriad of emotions crossing her face before settling on determination. “We’ll cover more ground if we split up.”

The rest of the group nodded. The biggest man shook his head in disbelief. “Geez, that’s a lot to process. I need a minute.” He paused. “Never mind, that minute is not helping. Pre-blizzard Varian?” He sighed. “Well, he’s inexperienced. We’ve got the upper hand!”

Rapunzel, the dark-haired woman, and the man with brown hair exchanged looks. The man with brown hair coughed awkwardly. “Uh, Lance, I don’t think you understand… this is the same kid who almost blew up his village the day we met. And that? That was an accident.”

The man, _Lance,_ gulped. “Oh. We’d… better hurry.”

Varian, from his hiding spot in behind the tree, smirked. _You haven’t seen anything yet._

Lance and the short man were walking down the main trail. “All right, Shorty, keep your eyes peeled.” Lance announced.

Varian cracked his knuckles on his perch in the trees, staring down at his targets. Carefully he considered the tripwire that Lance was going to walk into, taking careful aim at “Shorty” beside him.

Goo had many awesome properties, one of those being if aimed properly, made a fantastic elastic. Varian carefully smashed part of his last goo ball against his palms, sticking the adhesive chemicals to his hands. He quickly threw the remaining half of the ball directly at Shorty.

With a squelching sound, the goo attached and expanded on Shorty’s back, creating a clear line from him to Varian.

“Oh no.” Shorty said simply, even as Varian heaved his hands backwards. The goo responded, shooting the man up into the trees beside him. Moving quickly, Varian used the neutralizing particle on the man, freeing his hands to quickly tie him up with nearby vines.

He held a finger to his lips, indicating Shorty should stay silent. The man tried to make a thumbs up with his bound form and frowned when it was restrained. He continued to try to make the hand signal, despite the clear signs he wouldn’t be able to.

Varian blinked at the sight for a moment before turning away, rolling his eyes. Now for Lance.

“Shorty? Shorty?” The man called nervously, voice progressively getting higher as there was no answer.

Varian darted across the treetops (he would come back for Shorty later), swiftly positioning himself behind Lance as the man bumbled onto his tripwire, triggering Varian’s elaborate trap.

Lance watched with wide eyes, even as the vine was cut and the log Varian had painstakingly hauled to an upright position swung towards his face.

“Ow!” The man moaned as he was trapped within the log. Varian quickly slid down the side of the trunk of the tree, landing in a crouch on the ground.

He pulled the makeshift spiderweb made out of vines upright, stretching it taut and wrapping it around an overhanging branch. He pulled his goggles over his eyes to make them gleam in the moonlight, adjusting the long, thin twigs he had tied to his hands. He clambered back up the tree, tying a particularly sturdy vine around his waist.

Lance whimpered as he heard Varian’s rustling, turning around in the log just in time for Varian to lower himself down from the tree in the perfect imitation of a huge spider.

“N-no…” The man whimpered, and Varian smiled evilly, lunging down to an upright position with a yell.

“AAAAAGH!”

“AAAAAH!” Lance shrieked. “PLEASE SPARE ME!” He cried, hurling himself to his feet and dashing in the opposite direction.

Varian looked on in satisfaction as he fled. _Two down, three to go._

Eugene and Cassandra had run into each other almost immediately after splitting up, with both of them blaming each other for the run in and ultimately deciding two pairs of eyes were better than one, especially when it came to Varian.

The quiet of the night was interrupted with Lance screaming his head off as he ran past them, a hollow log trapping his arms together.

“Lance?” Cassandra asked, disturbed.

“And then, and then, it’s like, it just c-came out of nowhere, it was like a s-stealthy, jumping, sp-p-p-pider ghost!” The man babbled as he ran, disappearing in the trees once again.

“Spider ghost?” Eugene called after him.

“And h-he’s got Shorty!” The voice faded away as Lance sprinted without looking back.

“He’s got Shorty?” Cassandra asked skeptically. “But Shorty’s right there.” She pointed, where the man sat next against a tree next to a stream.

Eugene sighed. “He was just probably imagining things.” The duo walked closer to Shorty, who beamed toothily at them.

“Yoo-hoo! Quick question: How good are you at untying knots?” Shorty inquired.

Cassandra’s eyes widened as she spotted the thick vines binding Shorty to the tree. “Varian. Where-”

Her unfinished question was answered as a blue orb was hurled at Eugene and Cassandra’s feet, exploding in a patch of solid ice and sending them tumbling towards the stream filled with piranhas ready to ravage their prey.

“Woah, woah, woah!” Eugene yelped, scrabbling for a hold and finding none.

A vine whipped around Cassandra and Eugene’s ankles, slipping tight and pulling them upside down and dangling above the river.

“Gah!” Cassandra reached for her sword, but Eugene slapped at her hand.

“If you cut us down, we’ll fall- and I don’t feel like being lunch today!” Eugene’s voice was considerably higher than normal.

“Okay, Varian, we know you’re ridiculously capable- I mean, this is an awesome trap, I’ll give you that, but you can stand down!” Eugene called into the forest.

With a slight thump, Varian landed before them, goggles still pulled over his eyes, shining menacingly as he held the vine holding up Cassandra and Eugene in one hand.

He let it go slack just a little, causing the two to cry out and clutch at each other.

“Stand down?” He laughed darkly. “And let you guys come after me again? I don’t think so.” He walked over to the tree Shorty was tied to and fastened the vine to a branch, making sure it was secure. “So you’ll stay here, and I’ll take my leave. If you manage to escape, _don’t_ follow me. You’ll regret it.”

The alchemist turned away, ignoring Cassandra and Eugene’s protests.

“Varian!”

The voice gave the boy pause, if only for a moment. Rapunzel ran through the trees, panting, green eyes shining with panic. “Wait!”

While the others searched for the amnesiac alchemist, Rapunzel made her way back to the now abandoned campsite. The nearly forgotten potion had turned an acid green, the final stage that said the liquid was ready.

Rapunzel scooped some into a bottle and corked it. If she could get this to Varian, he would regain all his lost memories, and everything would return to normal.

She was about to put the bottle in her pocket when she hesitated. She almost… didn’t want to give it to him.

“Do you think there’s a way we could convince Varian we’re on his side _without_ giving him his memories?” She asked Pascal, then immediately felt ashamed as Pascal frowned at her and gave her a disapproving chirp.

“It’s just…” Rapunzel recalled the day she and Varian had had together, the laughter, how _easy_ it was to be friends with him when he didn’t remember everything that happened. “Being with him is so _fun,_ but… he doesn’t want to try, even though I’m totally willing to give him a chance! Why?!” She plopped down on the log, setting the potion down beside her in frustration.

“Agh!” She buried her face in her hands. “I know that erasing Varian’s memories is not the way to do this. It’s not right.” She felt Pascal give her an encouraging pat. “But…” Her words were slightly muffled by her hands. “I’m scared.” She admitted. “Scared that when he _does_ remember, he’ll hate me even more. That we’ve ruined any chance of having fun, of _trusting each other,_ ever again. How can we, when we’ve both lied to each other over and over again?”

Rapunzel recalled a cut off conversation she had had with Varian only a couple hours before he lost his memory.

_Promises can be broken, Princess. Trust can be broken. And sometimes, the only thing you have left to do… is to take a chance._

Rapunzel took a deep breath. She _wasn’t_ going to give up. If Varian could take a chance, then so could she. Scooping up the potion, she swiftly stood.

She had to find Varian.

As if in answer, screams began echoing through the trees near her, and Lance came tumbling out at her feet.

“Lance!” She cried, helping the trembling man up. “What happened? Did you find Varian?”

“N-no but I did find a s-s-pider that way!” Lance trembled and pointed shaking hand behind him.

“Spider?” Rapunzel wrinkled her nose. It couldn’t hurt to check it out. “Come on!”

“What?” Lance shrieked. “No thank you, I’ll be back at the caravan if you need me!” He dashed away through the bushes. Rapunzel sighed and wandered in the direction Lance showed her.

Eventually she heard voices and picked up her pace. One voice in particular sounded familiar…

“-manage to escape, _don’t_ follow me. You’ll regret it.”

Rapunzel sped up to a sprint and flew through the forest, coming out at the river she and Varian had crossed yesterday. The sight that greeted her was a strange one, with Cassandra and Eugene dangling precariously over the hungry piranhas, Shorty tied to a tree nearby, and Varian walking away.

“Varian!” She shouted, unwilling to let him leave yet. “Wait!”

The teenager stopped before abruptly turning, blue eyes burning with anger and hurt. “You! You lied to me!”

“I… I did.” Rapunzel swallowed, tilting her chin up defiantly. “You’re right, Varian. I lied, and I used magic on you.” She took a breath, pulling out the antidote from her pocket. Pascal croaked encouragement from her shoulder. “But this? This can bring back your memories.”

Varian frowned, pushing up his goggles back to the top of his head to get a better look at her. “Memories?” He asked suspiciously.

“Memories.” Rapunzel confirmed. “I accidentally erased some of your memories… I didn’t mean to, really. But I was so _angry_ ; you weren’t giving me a chance because of what happened between us. I just… I wanted you to forget, so you would try. There was this wand, and then you just… didn’t remember. I thought that I finally had my chance to be your friend.” She hugged herself. “But that was wrong, and I’m sorry.”

Varian hesitantly stepped closer, and Rapunzel felt a small stab of victory. “How do I know you’re not lying again? You said you never broke your promises, but you did. How am I supposed to trust that this really is what you say it is?” He asked, seeming hopeful but cautious.

The words were so reminiscent of a conversation they’d had a year ago Rapunzel wanted to cry. “You don’t.” Rapunzel replied. She bit her lip. “But a really wise person once told me…. That promises can be broken, and trust can be broken. And sometimes, the only thing you have left to do… is to take a chance.”

Varian looked at her, blue eyes shining fiercely in the dark. Rapunzel gulped, sure he was about to refuse her offer and attack. But to her surprise, his eyes softened, and he walked forward, taking hold of the bottle.

“I’m taking this chance.” He told her simply. “One last chance.” In a single movement, he uncorked the bottle and downed the liquid inside. Immediately, Varian swayed, eyes glazing over.

Rapunzel reached out, gripping his forearms to hold him steady as he shook his head clear. When he made eye contact with her, his eyes sparked with recognition. _He remembers._ To her surprise, he did not stiffen or pull away, only offering her a small smile.

“It worked?” She asked softly, carefully.

“Yeah.” He sighed, pulling an arm away to rub at his forehead. “Boy, do I have a headache now.”

“I’ll bet. Forgetting and then getting back an entire year of your life all in one day has got to be tiring.” Rapunzel grinned.

“You think?” Varian said wryly.

“This is all very sweet, but would you please bring us down?!” Eugene begged, voice an octave higher than normal.

“All the blood is rushing to my head.” Cassandra added.

“Whoops!” Varian blushed, running over to the tree branch he had fastened the vine to. “Sorry about tha-” He fumbled with the vine, accidentally releasing it and sending both of them tumbling into the river.

Amid the screams, Varian heard a distinct, “You’re so dead, Varian!” and a fainter, “Tell my story!” from Cassandra and Eugene respectively.

“I think I should start fleeing for my life now.” Varian gulped, face pale, even as Rapunzel readied her hair to rescue them.

“Probably.” Rapunzel agreed cheerfully. “While you’re running, would you mind freeing Shorty?”

“I suppose.” Varian heaved a dramatic sigh.

Rapunzel turned away to hide the huge smile stretched across her face.

“If I’m being honest? Yeah, I’m still a little mad about the things that happened.” Varian tightened his grip around his knees, staring at the rock he and Rapunzel were sitting on. “But I’m more _scared_ than anything.”

Rapunzel’s brow furrowed. “Scared? I mean, I understand angry- I’m a little mad too. But… scared? Of me?”

“Of being close to you.” Varian corrected, then sighed. “Because last time I was friends with you, my dad became encased in amber, and I committed treason. And if it was that bad the first time- well. I wasn’t going to let that happen again.”

“Wasn’t?” Rapunzel questioned, noting the past tense.

Varian offered a shy smile. “I won’t say that there won’t be bad days, where I’m still… hurt. And angry, and scared. And I’m not going to try to be that naïve, happy go-lucky kid I used to be, because I’m just not that person anymore. But… I’m willing to try. To be friends.”

“Really?” Rapunzel asked, not daring to hope, that this was _actually happening-_

“Really.” Varian said.

Rapunzel squealed, pulling him into a hug. “Yesyesyesyes!” She chanted, squeezing the alchemist.

Varian let out a surprised “Erk!” As he was yanked forward, but didn’t pull away, instead relaxing into Rapunzel’s hold.

“Thank you.” He whispered.

Rapunzel didn’t quite know what she was thanking him for, but pulled back to look him in the eyes, nonetheless. “You’re welcome.” She said simply, her face saying all the things her words couldn’t.

Across the clearing, the rest of the group sat in the fixed-up caravan, none too subtly watching the conversation unfold.

When Rapunzel pulled Varian into an embrace, Eugene nudged Cassandra in the ribs.

“See? I told you they’d get there.”

Cassandra, for once, didn’t respond with a snarky retort.

“Yeah.” She said softly, watching the two friends- _friends_ \- smile at each other.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is it! Thanks so much for reading!! <3


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